James Baldwin famously said “I can’t be a pessimist because I’m alive. To be a pessimist means you have agreed that human life is an academic matter. So I’m forced to be an optimist. I am forced to believe that we can survive, whatever we must survive.” This quote has been on my mind a…
Author: Cecily Walker
Cecily is a mid-career library professional. She is an internationally recognized speaker in library and information studies, user experience, equity and social justice. When she's not being a humourless feminist, you can find her holding court on Twitter or riding a Vespa around town where she entertains fantasies of being Batgirl. The ideas and thoughts expressed on this blog are her own: Cecily does not now, nor has she ever, spoken for her employer.
Gender/Queer
An idea has been going around in my head ever since the pandemic started. I’ve been thinking a great deal about gender, sexual orientation, and their connection to my identity, more-so than I ever have in my life. This feels significant as someone who was an angry, young queer activist. I won’t bore you with…
How I Take Notes
I promised myself that I’d do a deeper dive on my note-taking and study habits, so here’s a very quick brain dump on how I make sense of what I read. Very large caveat: lately I have been seriously struggling. I get so bogged down in tools and methods (thanks, ADD brain 😒) that I…
Review of the PaperLike Screen Protector (2021)
If one good thing has come out of this pandemic, it’s that I’ve been able to take a serious look at my study and note-taking habits, and identify ways that I can try to work with more focus and more efficiently in these areas.1 One of the things I noticed is that even though I…
The Most Cringe-worthy Street in Vancouver
I walk past this street from time to time, and every time I walk by, I am reminded of how good intentions can go horribly wrong. The name is intended to memorialize a portion of Vancouver’s Black community. This is a noble effort, and the city should be commended for it. However. The street is…
Thoughts Like A Runaway Train: Notes on Information Management with Zettelkasten
I made the decision earlier this year to spend the year preparing my grad school applications — that’s right, I’m planning a return to academia after a very long hiatus, provided that the schools of my choice accept me. Because I’ve made this commitment to myself, I’ve been focusing on studying “hacks” and trying to…